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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

An Olfactory Preference Test for Measuring Olfactory Hedonic Biases in Mouse Models of Depression

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Shift in Valence Bias Associated with Decrease in Trait Anxiety and Depression Symptoms.

Nicholas R Harp¹, R James R Blair², Maital Neta³

¹Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, Suite 701, 7th Floor, 1 Church St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.

Cognitive Therapy and Research

|July 8, 2026

Summary

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training improved responses to emotional ambiguity. This shift correlated with reduced depression and anxiety symptoms in participants.

Keywords:

Affective processing Anxiety Depression Individual differences

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Mindfulness Research

Background:

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is recognized for stress and negative affect reduction.
Prior research indicated MBSR training may shift responses toward positive interpretations of emotional ambiguity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if MBSR-induced changes in emotional ambiguity responses correlate with reduced depression and anxiety.
To examine the relationship between emotional processing shifts and symptom reduction post-MBSR.

Main Methods:

A study involving 42 participants assessed responses to emotional ambiguity before and after MBSR training.
Self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms were measured to evaluate symptom changes.

Main Results:

A significant positive association was found between increased positive responses to emotional ambiguity and reduced depression/anxiety symptoms.
This association remained significant even after controlling for increased mindfulness levels.

Conclusions:

MBSR appears to influence both emotional valence bias and internalizing symptoms.
Findings suggest MBSR-induced shifts in emotional processing and symptom reduction are interconnected.